Randy's Most Memorable Sports Moments: #10
I've compiled a list of the top 10 most memorable sports moments of my life. The 10th on my list is my dramatic stop as goalie in 7th grade.
I started playing soccer as soon as the leagues were offered, probably when I was 5 or 6. From the beginning I was on very good teams made up of mostly kids from Millbrook Christian School. We went undefeated most years (which is easy in elementary with just a couple of standout players) all the way through 6th grade.
I was a staple at the goalie position. I was officially stuck there in the beginning because of my pretty bad asthma but I was glad to be there because I was embarrassed with how slow I was and how tired I'd get. Fortunately the position grew on me and I became pretty good.
In 7th grade there was an official school team. Again, we were very good but now there were 3 goalies and I was 2nd string. That meant I only played the 2nd quarter at goalie. I felt I had something to prove because the starting goalie gave up more goals than me.
One game we were playing a very good team and it was a 1 goal game in the 2nd quarter when there was a "hands" in our penalty box. So they sent their star forward out to take the penalty kick against me. I got in position on the goal line and waited for the shot. Their star kicked it low and hard and I instinctively dove at it, getting a piece of it with my outstretched right arm. As I laid there on my stomach I looked up and saw the ball roll directly down the goal line, hit the goal post squarely, and bounce back directly on the goal line toward me. It miraculously stayed right on the line all the way to me and I snatched it to safety to complete the diving penalty kick save to keep our team ahead!
We ended up going undefeated in 7th and 8th grade with just 1 tie.
I started playing soccer as soon as the leagues were offered, probably when I was 5 or 6. From the beginning I was on very good teams made up of mostly kids from Millbrook Christian School. We went undefeated most years (which is easy in elementary with just a couple of standout players) all the way through 6th grade.
I was a staple at the goalie position. I was officially stuck there in the beginning because of my pretty bad asthma but I was glad to be there because I was embarrassed with how slow I was and how tired I'd get. Fortunately the position grew on me and I became pretty good.
In 7th grade there was an official school team. Again, we were very good but now there were 3 goalies and I was 2nd string. That meant I only played the 2nd quarter at goalie. I felt I had something to prove because the starting goalie gave up more goals than me.
One game we were playing a very good team and it was a 1 goal game in the 2nd quarter when there was a "hands" in our penalty box. So they sent their star forward out to take the penalty kick against me. I got in position on the goal line and waited for the shot. Their star kicked it low and hard and I instinctively dove at it, getting a piece of it with my outstretched right arm. As I laid there on my stomach I looked up and saw the ball roll directly down the goal line, hit the goal post squarely, and bounce back directly on the goal line toward me. It miraculously stayed right on the line all the way to me and I snatched it to safety to complete the diving penalty kick save to keep our team ahead!
We ended up going undefeated in 7th and 8th grade with just 1 tie.
posted by Randy and Erin at Thursday, August 17, 2006
1 Comments:
I had a miraculous save when I was in 6th grade, my very first game ever as a goalie. Same deal with the "hands" in the penalty box. The kid who stepped up to kick was the biggest 6th grader EVER! He booted it, and I just completely froze in the same ready position as I started. The ball taged me in the forehead, and then fell into my open hands before I realized what happened. Apparently it looked like I did it all on purpose, and I ended up being the star of the game. Even got an award at the end of the season for the best save.
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